“Tonight, I know she’s proud of me.”
Jennifer Lopez was honored with GLAAD’s Vanguard Award on Saturday for her work on ABC’s The Fosters. Expanding her talents as a successful singer and actress, Jennifer also works as an executive producer for the serial drama.
The Fosters, which also won an award for Outstanding Drama Series, centers on a multi-ethnic family mix of foster and biological kids who are raised by a lesbian couple. Accepting the award for Outstanding Drama Series the show’s creators Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige (Queer As Folk) described Jennifer’s late aunt as a “Guardian Angel.”
The Vanguard Award is presented to “Artists and media professionals who through their work, have increased the visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.” Past winners have included Josh Hutcherson, Drew Barrymore, Whoopi Goldberg, and Kristin Chenoweth.
Rita Moreno, one of Jennifer’s inspirations presented her with the award. Before inviting Jennifer to the stage the multi-award winning actress/singer made a point that, “It’s ironic that Jennifer has been so successful as a judge on American Idol because the woman in real life does not judge.” It should also be noted that the 82-year-old looked absolutely stunning in a leather GaGa style leather jacket from the ‘Judas’ era.
Accepting her award, Jennifer spoke about the backlash she would receive for associating her name with the show. She said, “I knew the show would be controversial because of the subject matter. But I decided to listen to my heart instead of my head.”
Jennifer then opens up about her “Cool Aunt” Mersa, one of her drives for producing the show. Jennifer says her Aunt grew up gay “in a time when it meant life could be very difficult.” She only learned of her aunt’s sexuality struggles when she grew up, but says her own family accepted and loved Mersa.
“I realised the quiet lessons I had learned from my family about love, tolerance, and acceptance. I wanted to do this because she would have been so proud of me.”
Watch the video below of the suitably sparkly Jennifer Lopez accepting her well-deserved award:
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